bimble

English

Etymology

Probably an alteration or variant of bumble (verb), perhaps influenced semantically by association with amble (verb).

This term is originally nautical and military in usage, and is previously used outside the current meaning of traveling on foot.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈbɪmbl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈbɪmbəl/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪmbəl

Noun

bimble (plural bimbles)

1. (chiefly British, colloquial) A walk or journey with no particular haste. [from 1980s]

Synonyms

• amble, mooch, stroll

Verb

bimble (third-person singular simple present bimbles, present participle bimbling, simple past and past participle bimbled)

1. (chiefly British, colloquial, intransitive) To walk or travel with no particular haste. [from 1980s]
   • 2007 January 28, Paul Simon, “Surf, snow and city in one break”, in The Observer, UK, retrieved 18 January 2009:

     Check-in ran like clockwork and after unpacking, we bimbled off to the cycle centre, hired two bikes and a kiddy trailer for the boys and set off to get our bearings.

Synonyms

• amble, dander, roam, saunter, stroll, wander

References

• “bimble, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
• “bimble, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2019.
• “bimble”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Anagrams

• belimb